Placement of satellite dishes may be regulated in Philly

It might get tougher to put a satellite dish on the front of your house in Philadelphia.

Councilman Darrell Clarke dislikes satellite dishes and wants them off the front of buildings unless absolutely necessary.

His bill is designed to remove the eyesores dotting the city landscape.

“As you know, as you drive down the street, you see these things sticking out all over the place and they are quite ugly if I do say so myself,” Clarke said. “During the course of the negotiations, we have attempted to get them to agree to the process of installing them in the rear or on the roof rather than the facade.”

When there is no alternative, the councilman has amended his bill to require that dishes on the front of buildings blend in by painting them to match the front of the house.

“It will require that a camouflage approach be used on the dish that are placed on the facade,” he said.

Satellite providers say FCC regulations prohibit such a law and vow to fight it in court.